


Off Night

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25267345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: After having an off night onstage, Alex begins to question himself and his abilities.
Kudos: 3





	Off Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“This is going to be our last song for tonight, please sing along if you know it!” Alex exclaimed into the microphone, right before starting to sing Dear Maria.   
They were playing a show in Philadelphia, and Alex was more than ready for it to be over. He’d had a very off night; he forgot a lot of lyrics, messed up a bunch of chords in different songs, and even tripped on the wires from the amps, and fell hard on the ground. He wasn’t sure why all of these screw ups were happening to him on this particular night, but they caused him to get incredibly angry and self-conscious as the show progressed.   
Alex knew that his friends could tell he was frustrated; every time he looked over to any of them, they’d flash a sympathetic smile, only making him angrier, since he didn’t want to be pitied by his friends. At this point, Alex just wanted to get offstage, go to the bus, grab a drink, and wallow in his own self-pity.   
“Thank you guys so much for coming out, we’re All Time Low, and we’ll see you next time!” Alex said as the audience cheered. Not wanting the crowd to know how upset he was, Alex stayed onstage for a bit with the band, throwing out pics and setlists to the fans.   
After a few minutes, Alex decided that he’d had enough, so he made his way off of the stage, hoping to get out to the bus before his band figured out where he was. Unfortunately, he realized that his plan hadn’t worked when he heard his friends calling his name, making him roll his eyes some.  
“Hey Alex, wait up!” Zack exclaimed, as Alex stopped walking and turned to face his friends.  
“What do you guys want?” Alex asked back, sounding annoyed.  
“Well, the three of us were thinking about maybe going out to a nearby bar and having some fun before we have to be back for bus call,” Rian explained, smiling as he spoke.  
“I don’t know, I’m-“ Alex started.  
“Come on, man, it’ll be so fun!” Zack tried.  
“Yeah, you love going out after we play, you have ever since we started touring,” Jack pointed out, starting to feel concerned about how upset Alex was.  
“I’m not really in the mood tonight, guys,” Alex replied.  
“Alex, come on, man. Everyone has off nights sometimes, there’s no need to-“ Rian started.  
“I’m going back to the bus. You three go have fun,” Alex stated, quickly turning around and walking away before his friends could get another word in.  
“He’s really upset with himself,” Zack stated, sounding worried.  
“I know. I mean, he’s always like that when he messes up a lot, but this time seems a lot worse,” Rian added.  
“I think we should go talk to him,” Jack decided.  
“I don’t know, I think he just needs some time to calm himself down. I think the three of us should still go out for a bit,” Rian replied.  
“No, I don’t think he should be by himself right now, he’ll just get in his head even more,” Jack pointed out.  
“Well, if you want to go back on the bus with him, go ahead, but I think we’ll still go out. Besides, all of us talking at him would be a bit much,” Zack replied.  
“Zack’s right, maybe just you doing this will be best. We’re going to go out with the crew, text us if you need anything, dude,” Rian added.  
“I will, you guys go have a fun night,” Jack replied.  
“Will do, good luck with Alex,” Rian replied. Jack just smiled at his friends as a thank you, before making his way to the back door of the venue, and over to the bus. He did have to admit that he was a bit nervous to talk to Alex about everything, since he was normally very short tempered when he was upset, but Jack knew that it would all be worth it in the end.   
Once he got to the bus, he quietly climbed up the stairs, and walked in the front lounge, to see Alex sitting at the table, facing the bunk area with his head down some, and a couple empty beer cans on the table next to him, as well as a half drank third beer.   
Hearing someone walk on the bus caught Alex’s attention, so he slowly turned and a look of relief took over his face when he realized who’d walked in.  
“Oh, it’s just you,” Alex stated, slurring his words some. Jack noticed that Alex’s face was a bit red and his eyes were glossed over, not that he was surprised, since Alex had drunk a decent amount in a short time.  
“Yeah, it’s just me. Hey, how many of those beers have you had?” Jack asked, walking over to the table, and sitting across from his friend, grabbing himself a drink in the process.  
“Just, like, two so far,” Alex casually replied, taking another sip of his drink.  
“You’ve drank two in fifteen minutes? You must’ve pounded them, man,” Jack said, feeling his concern make a reappearance.   
“It doesn’t really matter; tomorrow is just a day off. Besides, I kind of want to get trashed tonight,” Alex explained, trying to laugh some.  
“I don’t know if that’s really a good idea, man. Why don’t we go to the back lounge and watch a movie? We can make some popcorn and make a really fun night out of it!” Jack suggested, trying to look excited so Alex would go along with it.  
“Nah, I just want to stay out here and get plastered tonight. You don’t have to stay with me because you feel bad for me or whatever. You can go out and have fun with Rian and Zack, I’ll be fine by myself,” Alex stated, quickly drinking the rest of his drink.   
Once it was done, he got up to get another, and stumbled some as he walked back to his seat from the fridge.  
“That’s not why I’m here with you,” Jack replied.  
“Really, why are you, then? Did you just want to watch me drink or something? Going out with the others is obviously the better choice, I know you only came here because you want to make sure that I’m okay, and I am. You don’t have to babysit me,” Alex countered, starting to feel as upset as he did earlier that night.  
“Well, I’m definitely not doing that, I just know how hard you can be on yourself, especially when nights like tonight happen, and-“ Jack said, before getting cut off.  
“Dude, I’m literally fine, I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Alex defended.  
“No, you were, you were going to drink way too much because you’re upset with yourself. I spent quite a few years doing that to cope with shit, and all it did was make everything worse, and give me some of the worst hangovers I’ve ever had. Come on, man, talk to me, why are you so pissed at yourself about this? We all have off nights, they just happen,” Jack stated, sounding genuinely concerned.   
Alex could tell that Jack was really worried, and he didn’t want to make his friend feel that way, so he took a deep breath before finally speaking.   
“It’s just so frustrating, dude. I know we all mess up sometimes, but I just feel like it happened so much tonight. It was like it was me against everything else,” Alex explained, looking down in embarrassment.  
“Hey, it’s not like that, and I know you know that. We all knew you were frustrated with yourself, and we wanted to help. That’s why Rian suggested we all go out, to get your mind off of this,” Jack replied.  
“I know, and that was nice of you guys, but I would’ve just drunk a lot and been in my head. I wouldn’t have let it go, or been any fun, just like now,” Alex continued.  
“Dude, don’t take this the wrong way, but why’re you so upset over tonight? There were plenty of times in the past when we both played worse than you did tonight, but we’d just rip on each other some, then use it as motivation to get better in the future. Why’re you so uptight about tonight?” Jack questioned.  
“Well, you kind of said it. That was our philosophy ten years ago when we were basically still kids. We’re in our thirties now, we’ve been doing this for quite some time, which means I should be awesome at it, and have it all down. I shouldn’t still be fucking up so badly,” Alex explained, his voice cracking towards the end.  
“That’s not necessarily how it works, dude. You’re a thousand times better than you were ten years ago, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never mess up anymore. I know-“ Jack started.  
“Should we keep doing this?” Alex bluntly asked, cutting Jack off.  
“What do you mean, Alex?” Jack asked back.  
“You know what I mean. Is it worth it to keep doing this? We’re one of the only bands in our scene to still be active, and maybe that’s because no one cares anymore. We’re not really as relevant anymore, maybe we should just call it quits now,” Alex explained, a few tears falling from his eyes.  
“What? Why would we quit? That’s just the alcohol talking, man,” Jack replied, a bit surprised that Alex was this upset.  
“Maybe it’s a mistake that we’ve kept this thing going on for so long. Do you really not get where I’m coming from?” Alex continued.  
“Oh, I do, and it’s from those empties sitting next to you. Alex, having an off night doesn’t mean that we all throw in the towel and quit. Don’t you love music? That’s why we started this thing in the first place,” Jack pointed out.  
“Of course I love it, I just think that I’m not good enough to have it be my career,” Alex continued, more tears falling down his face.  
“Alex, we’ve released seven albums now, we have an amazing fanbase, a lot who have been with us for years. Tonight’s show sold out, doesn’t that seem like a big deal to you?” Jack continued.  
“It does, but I just feel like you three deserve better from your lead singer,” Alex replied in a small voice.  
“You’re the perfect front man for our band, and I know you know that. I love getting to be onstage with you every night and play the songs that you loved enough to write and perfect. I’ll never get tired of playing any of our songs, ever,” Jack said in a serious voice.  
“Even Coffee Shop Soundtrack?” Alex asked, smiling some since he knew they were all a bit sick of that song.  
“Yes, even that song. Alex, you agreeing to start a band with me in high school was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I honestly have no idea what I’d be doing if we didn’t work our asses off to make our crazy dream into a reality. I definitely wouldn’t be as happy, I’d be a boring ass middle aged man working a nine to five office job, counting down the days until I could retire. You starting this band with me got me out of that, and this band has saved me so many times. This isn’t some mistake, dude, we’re living the dream, and it wouldn’t be possible without you,” Jack explained.  
“You really believe all of that?” Alex asked, starting to sit up some and look at Jack.  
“Of course I do, I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anyone else, it wouldn’t be right. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are as a singer, guitar player, and lyricist, don’t let one off night make you forget that. This band means so much to the fans, and the three of us. We definitely don’t want to quit, but only if you feel that way, too,” Jack continued.  
“I do, and you’re right. This band has been the best thing to happen to me, especially since it solidified our friendship. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, especially in times like this, when toxic thoughts start to take over. Thank you so much, Jack, for coming here and talking to me. I’d probably be about six drinks in and really down if you hadn’t,” Alex said, making both of them smile.  
“I’m glad I was able t help, especially since you’ve done the same for me so many times over the years. There’s absolutely no one else I’d rather be on this insane adventure with,” Jack said back.  
“You’re the best,” Alex stated, wiping his tears away.   
Jack got up and gave his friend a hug, which Alex gratefully returned.  
“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Use tonight as motivation to kick ass at our next show,” Jack suggested.  
“That’s a great idea, thanks dude. You’re right, this band has really allowed for us to do some awesome things that I only thought would be possible in dreams,” Alex pointed out.  
“You’ve got that right,” Jack replied.  
“Getting to open for both Blink and Green Day, travel the world, collaborate with our idols, make two concert documentaries, play on-” Alex started.  
“Hey, I’m all for reminiscing at our highs as a band, but why don’t we continue after we put on our PJs, and get comfortable in the back lounge?” Jack suggested.  
“That’s a good idea. But, of all of those things that I named were super special because I got to experience them with my best friends, especially you. Thank you for helping me get to live out my dream,” Alex said, making them smile again.  
“The same goes to you, man. Let’s go on to the back,” Jack stated, leading the two of them to the back lounge, where they stayed up almost all night talking about the amazing things they’d gotten to experience together, all because of the crazy dream they had in high school.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I can't believe I'm officially posting my 200th fic!! The idea for this fic was given to me by one of my favorite people I've met through writing/posting, Satellites_and_Stars!! I'm so grateful for her and her friendship, it's actually a huge reason I've been motivated to post so much for so long. She also has some fics posted, and I highly recommend checking them out! I want to thank all of you guys for reading my work and giving me requests, I feel so lucky to be part of such an awesome community where there's so much positivity! While 200 fics is a lot, I certainly don't plan on stopping here, I really do love writing for you guys and bringing your ideas to life, so please continue to send in requests! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me for this long, I'm so grateful, and I'm excited to continue writing even more for you all! I hope you enjoyed this fic, and there will definitely be more in the near future! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
